When a Person Stands for

Continued 👇🏾 ✍🏾When a person stands for the Holy Liturgy, he must gather his five senses, give full attention, and participate in the Liturgy actively and reverently. For this reason, the deacon proclaims in the middle of the service, “Rise for prayer,” and the faithful humble themselves before God and ask for forgiveness, saying, “Lord, forgive us.” ✍🏾 participation of the Five Senses in the Holy Liturgy During the Holy Liturgy, the five senses eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and touch are sanctified together. 👉🏾 The Eye: When the priest consecrates the Holy Liturgy, he does not remain still near the altar. He moves in specific ways, and each movement has deep spiritual and mystical meaning. By seeing these sacred actions, eye participate in the Holy Liturgy . 👉🏾 The Ear: The priest, deacon, and faithful hear the hymns, prayers, and readings sometimes together and sometimes individually. Through attentive listening, the ears are participate in the Holy Liturgy . 👉🏾 The Nose: The sense of smell is sanctified through the fragrance of incense, which symbolizes the prayers of the saints rising to God. 👉🏾 The Tongue (Taste): The tongue is sanctified when the faithful receive Holy Communion with reverence and faith. 👉🏾 Touch: The sense of touch is sanctified when we bow before God, kiss the Holy Gospel after its reading, and receive blessings by kissing the priest’s hand at the conclusion of the Holy Liturgy. ✍🏾The Nature of Liturgical Teaching The lessons we learn in the Holy Liturgy are different from the lessons taught in formal courses, such as those at Awde Mihret. These are teachings revealed by the Holy Spirit, who has instructed many scholars, yet presents the truth in a way that is clear and accessible to all the faithful. 👉🏾 In the Holy Liturgy, we hear: 👉🏾The Holy Gospel 👉🏾The Epistles 👉🏾The Acts of the Apostles 👉🏾The Universal Epistles 👉🏾The Psalms of David ✍🏾All of these are proclaimed in melody, which helps the Word of God to be received not only by the mind but also by the heart. ✍🏾When a person faithfully participates in the Holy Liturgy, he is learned the entire Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Through continual participation, the faithful grow in spiritual wisdom and are shaped over time, for the Holy Liturgy is a way of living the angelic life on earth, as mentioned earlier. ✍🏾The Holy Liturgy as the Greatest Mystery of the Church The celebration of the Holy Liturgy is the greatest sacrament of our Church. Therefore, we must not only participate in it ourselves, but also teach and encourage our people to take part in this sacred mystery. It is especially fitting to: 👉🏾Bring our children to the Holy Liturgy 👉🏾Teach them to bring offerings 👉🏾Prepare them in advance for the celebration 👉🏾Guide them to receive Holy Communion with faith and reverence ✍🏾 Passing on the Sacred Tradition If we fail to do this, we risk losing the sacred heritage entrusted to us. Therefore, we must faithfully pass on this tradition to the next generation, so that the ancient and holy order of worship handed down to us may not be weakened or lost. Part 5 continues ... May the name of the Holy God be praised forever and ever in every tongue that He has created, today and always. May the blessings of God's mother, the virgin, and the cross be upon us. Amen. © John's Repentance Reach out to us on our social media platforms and share it with your friends:https://linktr.ee/johnsrepentance